The utility didn't mince words on a conference call Tuesday afternoon, calling the storm "catastrophic" and unique in its 126-year history. Unfortunately for those still without power, however, it is especially tedious during the holidays.

About 157,000 customers remain without power Tuesday afternoon across Michigan, which is about half the number seen soon after the peak of the outages, said Jim Anderson, executive director of electric asset management for the utility.

Elsewhere, 3,835 customers are without power in Ionia County, in addition to 3,764 customers in Kent County, 2,208 customers in Allegan County and 1,325 customers in Kalamazoo County.

Nearly 6,500 customers are without power in Calhoun County and just 53 customers are affected in Ottawa County.

In mid-Michigan and eastward, 13,603 customers are without power in Eaton County, including 15,708 customers in Ingham County, 54,356 customers in Genesee County, 18,585 customers in Shiawasee County and 8,576 customers in Clinton County.

There is potentially some relief for customers who might not see their power restored until the weekend. When the outage map provides estimated restoration times hours or even days into the future, it indicates "worst case scenario" because that's what customers prefer to see, Palkovich said.

Power could be restored much earlier than the given estimate, she added.

The company began to mobilize its crews and resources in the lead up to the storm days in advance, Anderson said. Palkovich added more than 400 line crews are tending to the hardest hit areas of the state, including several hundred forestry crews to clean up and remove branches.

Contract crews from as far south as South Carolina and Washington, D.C., are providing help to Michigan's workers, Anderson said.

"We recognized (Friday) that it was going to be a high priority of assistance," he said.

Anderson noted it was challenging to get assistance initially given severe thunderstorms sweeping through southern portions of the Midwest and Ohio Valley.